


Revelations

by IceBlueRose



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), American Idol RPF, Kris Allen (Musician)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-03
Updated: 2011-04-03
Packaged: 2017-10-17 13:37:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/177392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceBlueRose/pseuds/IceBlueRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katy looked up at Adam. “Don’t leave him and Kris alone, Adam.”</p><p>Adam felt his stomach clench. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”</p><p>“That’s right but it’s not for me to tell.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “Promise me, Adam. Please.”</p><p>Adam let out a breath. “I promise.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Revelations

Adam loved dinner at the Allens’ house. They never failed to make him feel welcome and to pull out all the stops for a complete Southern dinner. Kim was constantly telling him that he needed to eat more and it never failed to make Adam laugh when Neil would roll his eyes behind her back and then wink at him.

He’d never thought he could be this comfortable, this happy, out in the South. It was stereotypical of him but he’d never been able to shake the feeling that he’d never be fully accepted for who he was while there.

Leave it to the Allen family to prove him wrong. Hell, practically the whole town had welcomed him, barely blinking at the sight of him walking down the street with Kris over the last week.

He smiled as he took a bite of Katy’s creamed potatoes – he was going to have to seriously work out after this trip – and watched as Daniel tossed tiny pieces of a bread roll at Kris every time he thought no one was looking.

“Guess who’s coming to town tomorrow?” Kim asked.

“Santa?” Daniel grinned.

Kris snorted. “You wish.”

Kim cut off any reply Daniel was going to make with a simple, “Boys.”

“Sorry, Momma.” Kris smiled at her before turning and making a face at Daniel that had him snickering.

“Who’s coming to town?” Katy asked, shooting Kris and Daniel a look that had Adam fighting back a laugh.

“Randy.”

The sound of Kris’s fork clattering against his plate had everyone turning to look at him. Adam frowned lightly at how forced Kris’s smile looked.

“Sorry, slipped,” he said.

“Who’s Randy?” Adam was sure he’d never heard Kris talk about anyone named Randy before.

“My brother. He used to spend a lot of time with the boys, especially Kris,” Neil explained. “When he still lived in town, Kris used to go over and help him out around his house and yard.” Neil laughed. “When Kris and Charles weren’t getting up to something that is. Don’t think I forgot about that incident with the fruit punch.”

Even as the rest of the table laughed, Adam couldn’t help but notice the way both Kris and Katy had tensed before forcing themselves to relax and join in the laughter.

 

~*~*~

 

Adam’s lips twitched as he headed down the hall towards Kris and Katy’s kitchen. He still couldn’t really believe that they’d given him his own room rather than just making it into a regular guest room. Kris had insisted he decorate it and Katy had pointed the two of them in the direction of a few stores she thought would have something Adam would like.

And she’d been right.

He paused when he heard the sound of voices coming from the living room. Hesitating, he considered making his presence known and then decided against it. He wasn’t the type to eavesdrop usually but something was going on with Kris and no one else, except Katy, seemed to even know.

Rude or not, he was going to listen and see if he could help.

“He’s not coming into this house,” Katy said softly. “Not our house.”

There was a pause and then Kris spoke, “How are we going to manage that one?”

He could actually hear the smile in Katy’s voice. “I already did. I told your mom that I’d meant to ask earlier but got sidetracked and then I asked if we could have the barbecue at their house instead. I told her that our house just wasn’t ready for any kind of party.”

“And you got away with that?” Kris laughed lightly.

“Well, Daniel nearly blew it when he pointed out that Adam was staying with us but then I replied that Adam staying with us isn’t a party, it’s a friend staying over.” She paused. “Also, I pointed out that we needed to finish decorating and I’m pretty sure that I can get Adam to take my side since you have no sense of what will look good.”

“I do too,” Kris protested.

“Kris, you said we could leave the walls white.”

“Well, we could. There’s nothing wrong with white.”

Katy laughed and then her voice became serious again. “I mean it, Kris. He’s not coming here.”

“Good.” He could hear Kris shift. “I don’t want him here. Katy, we can’t leave him alone with—“

“Not a chance.”

Kris breathed out. “Good,” he repeated.

Adam leaned back against the wall and quietly let out a breath. Suddenly, he was having a bad feeling about Kris’s uncle visiting.

 

~*~*~

 

Kris seemed to be nothing but normal the next morning and Adam frowned lightly as he watched him, searching for some clue that something was wrong. It took a few snuck glances but eventually he noticed the tightness around Kris’s mouth and the stiffness in his shoulders. Katy hid it better but Adam could tell that she was tense as well, especially with the way she’d look at Kris and then bite her lip before looking away.

Adam reached and touched Kris’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said. He jerked back when Kris jumped and whirled around. “Whoa, just me.”

Kris let out a breath and Adam could practically see the tension in Kris ease. “Sorry.” He smiled. “I guess I got lost in my own thoughts for a bit.”

This was the point where Adam usually made a remark about how that shouldn’t have been too hard since Kris had so many thoughts. Instead he tilted his head and studied him for a few minutes before he nodded.

“Adam?” Kris frowned. “You okay?”

God, Adam could kiss the man for asking when something was clearly bothering him.

“I’m good.” Adam smiled. “I promise. Maybe the fresh air is messing with my head,” he teased, his smile turning to a grin when Kris laughed. He glanced up to see Katy watching them with a smile of her own before she nodded at Adam and went into the other room.

“So,” Adam slowly smiled, “do you think I could make Daniel choke on his drink if I showed up wearing something bedazzled?”

Kris’s laughter rang out in the room and Adam let himself relax for the first time since dinner the night before.

 

~*~*~

 

The relaxed feeling didn’t last though and Adam watched as the tension began to take over both Kris and Katy as they got closer to his parents’ house.

“Kris, are you feeling okay?” he asked softly. Kris glanced over and smiled as they got out of the car.

“Yeah, just a headache.”

It was extremely tempting to call bullshit but before he could even consider, Kim was opening the door and walking outside to greet them.

“Hi Momma,” Kris said, kissing her on the cheek. “Where do I put this?” He lifted the platter of brownies that Katy had baked the night before and tilted his head toward the house. “Kitchen or backyard?”

“Kitchen or your brother will start eating them right away,” she told him, kissing Katy on the cheek before doing the same to Adam. “Everyone’s in the back. I think Randy is trying to convince Neil to let him take over the grill.” She rolled her eyes as she headed back into the house.

Katy’s hand on his arm stopped Adam from following Kim. “Wait,” she said. “I have a favor to ask.”

“Does this have something to do with the fact that you and Kris have been tense ever since Kim announced his uncle was coming to town?” Adam asked bluntly.

She let out a breath. “No point in denying it,” she sighed. “Yes.” She bit her lip, a nervous habit that Adam hadn’t noticed until this morning. “If you see Kris going off with his uncle, go after them. Don’t leave Kris alone with him.”

Adam felt a stab of alarm at her words. “Why?”

“He’s...he’s not like the rest of the family.” She pushed her hair back. “Randy doesn’t have an open mind and he’s not shy about telling it to people he thinks needs to hear it.”

“Oh, arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of him,” Adam muttered, suddenly getting an idea of where this was going.

Katy’s lips twitched. “I never would’ve taken you for a _Babylon 5_ fan.”

“Likewise.”

She sighed again. “The point is, he’s never minded telling Kris exactly what he thinks and Kris doesn’t usually handle it well.”

“And you think he’ll say something today.”

“I know he will.” Katy looked up at Adam. “Don’t leave him and Kris alone, Adam.”

Adam felt his stomach clench. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“That’s right but it’s not for me to tell.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “Promise me, Adam. Please.”

Adam let out a breath. “I promise.”

 

~*~*~

 

Kris’s uncle, it turned out, was everything Katy had said and more. Adam could practically feel his eyes burning into his back at certain points and he knew for a fact that he’d seen Randy glaring when he’d thrown an arm around Kris’s shoulders.

Probably worried he was going to corrupt his nephew, not that Kris needed corrupting. He’d managed to make Adam speechless with one of his dirty jokes a few weeks ago.

He paused when he noticed Katy staring at him and then the house, her gaze going back and forth between the two as she talked with Kim and Jill, Daniel’s latest girlfriend. Adam paused and glanced around, sucking in a breath as he realized that Kris and his uncle were nowhere to be seen. Glancing back at Katy, he nodded and he watched as she visibly relaxed before turning around and heading into the house.

Inside, Adam glanced around and swore quietly when there was no sign of either man in the kitchen or living room. He turned to head towards the dining room when the sound of Randy’s voice stopped him.

“I thought you’d learned your lesson, Kristopher. I thought I’d made it very clear what was right but I obviously didn’t.”

“Uncle Randy, I—“ Adam didn’t know how to describe Kris’s voice but he’d never heard it sound like that. Kris should never sound like that, should never sound unsure or afraid. It was wrong.

“Don’t interrupt me. You think I didn’t notice the looks? You’ve been with him, haven’t you?”

“He’s my best friend—“

“And that means you spread your legs for him whenever he asks?”

Adam felt his temper flare at that and he took a deep breath, pinpointing the sound of their voices as coming from the back of the house in the family room. Quickly, he headed in that direction.

“You go down on your knees? Beg for it?” There were a few thuds followed by the sound of breath rushing out. “I told you what happens to faggots, Kristopher, but I see we need to go over it again.”

Adam rounded the corner to see Kris slightly hunched over, leaning against the wall, with an arm curled around his stomach. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had just happened and Adam had to fight not to reach out and punch the man in the face. This was still Kim and Neil’s house and he was still Neil’s brother and he was damn well not going to cause a scene. But that didn’t mean he had to let the man anywhere near Kris.

“Katy’s looking for you,” he said, focusing on Kris as he walked further into the room. “She said she had something to ask you.”

Kris straightened, a slight flush on his cheeks. “Thanks.” He didn’t say anything else as he walked out of the room, though he did give Adam a small smile as he passed.

Adam narrowed his eyes at Randy, who sneered back, and then nodded slightly. “See you outside, Randall.” _I hope you choke_ , he thought as he followed Kris back outside.

 

~*~*~

 

It didn’t escape his notice that Katy managed to stick close to Kris for most of the rest of the night and when she wasn’t able to, Adam made sure that he was. At the end of the night, he took a small bit of satisfaction in squeezing Randy’s hand until his gaze flickered and he watched as Katy and Kris gave him one armed hugs, something that would’ve tipped him off even if he hadn’t known about anything else.

The car was fairly silent on the way back to Kris and Katy’s and Adam was grateful for it. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say but he also knew he couldn’t ignore what had happened.

Once they were back, Katy directed Kris to the couch and didn’t even bother trying to hide what she was doing as Adam settled on the second couch. Quickly, she unbuttoned Kris’s shirt and Adam clenched his jaw at the bruises along Kris’s torso.

Kris had always bruised easily and it was something they’d all had fun teasing him about, saying he could just barely bump into the corner of a wall and he’d have a bruise within a few hours. It wasn’t so funny now though.

“They’re not that bad this time,” Kris said. Katy nodded.

“I know.”

Adam’s hands jerked against the couch. “This time?”

They exchanged a look that seemed to say hundreds of things before Kris nodded. “This time,” he confirmed.

“What the hell, Kris?” he burst out. “Are you saying your uncle’s beaten you before because you can be friends with a gay guy?”

Kris shook his head. “You remember that night on tour when we all got bored and started comparing stories about our first kisses?”

He was pretty sure that was supposed to make some kind of sense, and in Kris’s head it probably did, but right now he could only focus on the fact that Kris’s uncle beat him. “Yeah, so?”

“I lied.” Kris swallowed. “My first kiss wasn’t with Marcy Sofer. It was with Johnny Barrett.”

Adam stopped and stared. “What?”

“Johnny Barrett. We were kids and it was my birthday. He’d given me this comic book that I’d wanted and I always saw my parents kiss each other when they gave each other a present so I thought that was what you did.” He shrugged. “So, you know, I kissed him. It was just a peck on the mouth really but Uncle Randy walked in and saw it.”

And suddenly, Adam knew exactly where this was going. “Shit.”

Kris’s lips twitched. “Yeah, that sums it up.”

“Why...” He trailed off, unsure how to word it without offending Kris.

“Why didn’t I say anything?” Kris asked. Adam nodded. “One of the first things he told me was that God didn’t care about boys who dirtied themselves by kissing other boys and that my parents wouldn’t either.”

“Asshole,” Katy muttered. Kris smiled and covered her hand with his.

“I believed him,” Kris said. “And anytime he saw me looking at another guy in what he thought was a funny way, he’d decide to teach me how wrong it was. He never hit me where anyone would see the bruises and I never said anything, even when I was older, because I still believed him. I only questioned him a couple times, saying my parents didn’t mind my friend, Greg, and he was gay so what was the big deal?” Kris shook his head. “Worst beatings of them all, up to that point. And the whole time, he shouted about how my parents didn’t mind if it was someone else’s son but how could I possibly think they’d be okay with it if it was me?” He let out a breath.

“Kris and I had already met by that time. I’d seen him around but I hadn’t really paid attention.” She smiled. “Then he showed up with Kim to pick Daniel up from my birthday party and I realized that, wow, Kris Allen was a cutie.” She made a face when Kris snorted. “Shut up.”

Adam smiled briefly before looking between the two. “You started dating.”

Katy shook her head. “No. We became friends. I had a huge crush on him and there was this awkward moment where I completely hit on him when I went on a trip with him and his family.” She looked at Kris, who let out a long breath.

“And then I told her I was gay,” he said bluntly.

There was no way that Adam had heard that right. “You what?”

Kris closed his eyes. “I told her I was gay.”

Before Adam could even think of a reply, Katy continued. “I was the first person he’d told and I’d never seen Kris look so scared in all the time I’d known him.”

Adam thought back to the first time he’d come out to someone. It didn’t matter that he’d come to terms with it himself long before that, the first time you said it out loud to someone else was terrifying. He could easily picture what Kris had been feeling.

Katy rubbed a hand over Kris’s thigh. “He looked so surprised when I didn’t slap him or anything.” She lifted a shoulder. “Don’t get me wrong, I was disappointed because there went my dreams of dating the hot older guy who also happened to be an actual nice guy but Kris was still my friend.” There was no hesitation as she met Adam’s eyes. “It took a few months before I found out about the beatings and I tried to convince Kris to talk to someone but he wouldn’t. And maybe I could have but I couldn’t bring myself to break Kris’s confidence like that. So I told him that we were going to go out on a date.”

“I told her no but she’s stubborn,” Kris said, picking up where Katy had left off without missing a beat. “I didn’t think it was fair to her and she kept insisting that what was happening to me wasn’t fair either.” He licked his lips. “Then she told me that there was no one that she was really interested in anyway so it didn’t matter. And this was a way to get Uncle Randy off my back so if I didn’t take it, she was going to do something about it even if that meant telling someone.” Kris rubbed the back of his neck. “It took awhile but I finally said okay on the condition that if she ever did meet someone that she liked, we’d ‘break up’ so that she could go for it.”

“That’s why you broke up in your senior year,” Adam realized.

Katy nodded. “I met this guy that I had started to really like and I told Kris. So we started dropping hints that things weren’t going so great between us and then we broke up after a few weeks and made it known that we’d stay friends.”

“And I’d have blown it pretty fast if it weren’t for Katy. She was the one who added that we shouldn’t hang out as much at first. Because going to friends that easily...” Kris trailed off and shrugged.

“And what about after, when you got back together?” Adam asked. He deliberately kept himself from thinking too much on the topic, wanting to hear the rest before he said anything else.

“We were at separate colleges and we told people that we were going to keep things a bit more casual this time around. A more open relationship.” Katy glanced over and nodded at a picture of her and Kris standing with a blond that had his arm wrapped around both of them. “Kris was seeing Jake at the time and I was actually dating someone too.” She laughed. “Jake was much more understanding of the situation even though he and Kris did break up after about a year.” She grinned. “Friendliest break up in the world, too. Kris set him up with his next boyfriend and they’re actually living together now.”

Kris sighed in a way that said he’d heard this before. “And now Jake likes to call me a little gay matchmaker. Thank you, Katy.”

Adam’s lips twitched at that and he let out a breath, relaxing slightly. “And getting married?”

The smiles that had appeared on Kris and Katy’s faces disappeared at that and Kris looked over at Katy briefly. “That was something Katy wouldn’t back down on.”

“The two times you saw Randy during the time we were broken up, you came back even worse than when you’d questioned him, Kris. I nearly caved and told someone and, honestly, if you hadn’t begged me not to, I probably would have. I should have.” She frowned. “When things didn’t work out between me and the other guy, I dated a bit. Then I saw the way Kris looked and, well, you see how he looks now and that’s with barely any hits at all. It was awful. I told him we should do the whole get back together thing and just still date others since we’d be in different towns anyway. Like I said, Jake totally understood. He’d found out when he’d accidentally knocked into Kris after that second beating. It took a hell of a lot to stop him from doing something.”

“The guy Katy was dating wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of her acting as my girlfriend. It didn’t matter that we weren’t actually doing anything, he hated it. He told her to choose. She chose me.”

Katy narrowed her eyes at Kris. “I’d do it again, so stop feeling guilty.”

“Anyway,” Kris continued, shooting her a look, “Jake and I broke up about three years ago. I wasn’t ready to come out and I knew he wanted something more open, more permanent than what I could give him. It took awhile but we did manage to stay friends.”

“And then the marriage hints started dropping like anvils around us and I figured it was the next logical step. Kris and I fought all the time over that one because he said pretend dating was one thing but a pretend marriage was something else completely. I knew he wanted to come out but he also didn’t know how to just say it without revealing why we’d lied about our relationship all these years. It took a lot of talking and arguing before he gave in.”

“Okay,” Adam interrupted. “I just have to ask. Why didn’t you want to reveal the real reason?” He had a feeling but he wanted to know.

Kris looked away and stared at the wall. “I couldn’t. How could I tell my dad what his brother had done? And coming out on top of it all? What if...” He shook his head rather than finishing the sentence.

Adam closed his eyes as he realized that, inside, Kris was still terrified that his parents wouldn’t accept him.

“I can handle coming out,” Kris said softly. “I can’t handle destroying my dad while I do it.”

He let out a breath. “Are you ever going to?” Off of Kris’s look, he continued, “Come out?”

Kris nodded. “Yeah.” He glanced at Katy. “Not really sure when but yeah.”

“It’ll be hard but we can do it.” Katy laced her fingers through Kris’s. “We’ve already talked about it. For one, the same deal for when we were dating stands. But I don’t think it’ll be an issue.” She gave Kris a pointed look and he rolled his eyes at her. “But that’s not the point. The point is, we’ve already been talking about ending the marriage.”

“What?” Adam sat back, raising both his eyebrows.

“American Idol came at the perfect time. Touring, Kris having to be gone to record the album a lot...” Katy shrugged. “It’ll work out in realizing that we got married young and though we still love each other, we’re not right for each other anymore. Kris will be free to come out after some time has passed—“

“—and Katy will be free to have a life of her own,” Kris finished.

He took a moment to let it all sink in, staring at the wall as he did. Part of him was hurt and just a little bit pissed that Kris never told him. But even that couldn’t last when he thought about it because he’s pretty sure that up until now, he’d have had a hard time understanding and it’s fucked up to think that he needed that physical proof of things going so wrong in Kris’s world but knowing what the rest of his family is like, he knew it was part of what had helped. Seeing Kris and Katy’s reactions to Randy Allen, seeing the change in the both of them, actually meeting the man—it all brought it together in Adam’s mind.

He’d like to think he’d have believed Kris anyway but he knew that this way, the understanding had come faster and easier.

“Do you realize what coming out might do to your career, Kris?” Frankly, Adam thought Kris should do whatever made him happy but he also knew that someone had to say it.

“Yeah. I might lose some fans. I might lose a lot of the support that I’ve been given.” Kris took a deep breath. “But being able to be myself would be worth it. I’m not going into this without thinking about it. I know it’ll have to be handled carefully and that even then, it’ll explode.”

“You’ll have us,” Katy told him. “And your family.”

Adam thought of how Kris had supported him from the beginning, never wavering, even as he’d felt the need to hide himself. He didn’t hesitate as he stood and moved over to the other couch, sitting on Kris’s other side and pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

“You’re stuck with me.”

He knew that it’d been the right reaction when he felt Kris relax.

Katy leaned her head against Kris’s shoulder. “We’re going to start living separately in a few months since Kris is going to have to keep leaving to work on the album. There’s no fault here so it’ll take eighteen months before we can actually get divorced but that’s okay.”

“I’m going to be recording out of town a lot, so I have an apartment ready for when I do that.” Kris sighed.

“You’re going to be living out of town.”

“Exactly.”

Adam just hoped this didn’t all blow up in their faces.

 

~*~*~

 

Adam could see the difference in Kris the next day. His smile came easier, he looked more relaxed, and as a result so did Katy. Even when they neared the Allens’ house, Kris remained relaxed.

Kris got out of the car carefully and grinned over at Adam as he headed towards the house.

“Adam?” Katy said, pausing. “Thank you. I know you probably feel a little betrayed and you’re probably angry and hurt but thank you for not taking it out on him.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t. I remember what it was like to have to hide who you are and the reasons he did...I don’t know what that’s like, to have to be in the closet and be afraid that any little thing will cause someone to go after me.” He glanced back at the house. “I just want to make sure he has the support he needs.”

Katy let out a breath. “Exactly.”

“You two coming in or you planning on becoming lawn decorations?” Kris called, sticking his head out the door. He laughed when Adam rolled his eyes and then went back inside.

“Maybe we should have given him drugs,” Adam muttered.

 

~*~*~

 

Adam frowned as he looked for Kris, tensing when he couldn’t find him. He let out a slight breath and relaxed when he saw Randy.

At least that meant he wasn’t alone with Kris.

He caught Katy’s eye and mouthed that he’d be back before he walked out of the room, moving down the hallway towards the kitchen and dining room. When he didn’t find Kris in either of those rooms, he paused and then headed into the living room before checking outside.

He found Kris sitting on one of the benches on the deck and quietly sat next to him. “You okay?” he asked softly.

Kris hesitated for a few moments and then shrugged. “I don’t know.” He stayed silent for a bit longer and then he turned his head towards Adam. “I’m going to have to tell them, aren’t I?”

“You already knew that though.” Adam turned towards him more. “So why is that bothering you now?”

Kris stared down at his hand, tracing random patterns over the wood of the bench. “No, I don’t mean about coming out.” He shook his head. “I meant about Randy.” He let out a breath and looked back up at Adam. “I’m going to have to tell them. I was sitting in there and I could feel myself getting tense, wondering if I was going to say or do something that might set him off.”

Adam wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. “Are you sure?”

He considered it, staying silent for a few moments before nodding. “Yeah. I am. I need to do it. Not right now but maybe sometime after I come out.” He lifted one shoulder. “Maybe it’s selfish but once I come out, I don’t want to live like that. Not even for a couple of days out of the year.”

Adam nodded in understanding. “You shouldn’t have to, Kris.” He made sure Kris was looking at him. “If you’re sure about this, you know I’ll be right there with you the entire time.”

Kris smiled and put a hand on Adam’s thigh, squeezing lightly. “Thanks.”

Squeezing him back, Adam grinned. “Anytime.” He pressed his forehead against Kris’s. “You okay?”

Kris stared at him for a few moments. “I will be.”

Adam studied him and then smiled in satisfaction, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Neither of them spoke as they sat on the back porch, staring towards the horizon.


End file.
